The King and I National Tour

We saw this today as well. It was simply gorgeous. I am now decidedly a Jose Llana fan. I felt the two young lovers were a bit weak, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the production. So lovely.

Updated On: 4/8/17 at 08:30 PM

If you're a fan of Jose Llana, you might enjoy this interview we did with him for BroadwayWorld.com. This happened shortly after ''The King and I'' tour began, and he dished about Rodgers & Hammerstein and his wonderful cast; the progress of Asian-American actors onstage; his reaction to Trump and the election, and the importance of being out and proud.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Exclusive-Jose-Llana-on-His-KING-AND-I-Tour-and-Why-He-Believes-Hope-Trumps-Hate-20161115

Updated On: 4/9/17 at 02:44 AM

Really? I was bored. Granted, I saw it in San Francisco and not Pittsburgh.

I found it ugly. After the initial boat/dock scene, the set is a rather bland wall with some small pieces in front of it to show the shift to different palace locations. The performances were mixed. I found Jose Llana annoying and in a very different musical than the rest of the cast. Overall, very mediocre.

conealpetterson said: "I saw it in December in Los Angeles and loved it as well. I thought that Kelly and Llana were both wonderful. I was reflecting on how much I enjoyed it after seeing the tours of Finding Neverland and. An American in Paris, which I felt pretty meh about."

Hope I won't be too disappointed. I am so looking forward to our 2016-2017 season finale "An American in Paris", one of the final three for me which also includes "Fun Home" and "Dirty Dancing". We had a great run and I'd hate to end it on a sour note.

I liked "An American in Paris" better than "Finding Neverland." The woman who played Lise seemed to float on air when she danced. The actor playing Jerry was a good dancer, but he acting was pretty mediocre. The dancing was the best part of that show for me. I loved the "Fun Home" tour. We just saw it last month.

conealpetterson said: "I liked "An American in Paris" better than "Finding Neverland." The woman who played Lise seemed to float on air when she danced. The actor playing Jerry was a good dancer, but he acting was pretty mediocre. The dancing was the best part of that show for me. I loved the "Fun Home" tour. We just saw it last month. "

He's getting replaced...

http://www.playbill.com/article/an-american-in-paris-national-tour-will-welcome-new-jerry-mulligan



I'd love to have made the road trip back up to Pittsburgh and see "The King and I" again today, but other domesticated duties kept me local. But I've made it a rule not to see the same show twice. Too many prospects coming down the pike to save up for, whether it be in Pittsburgh, Columbus, D.C., Baltimore, Cleveland (was up there last weekend for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time), or Charlotte.

Updated On: 4/9/17 at 06:27 PM

I also enjoyed the King and I tour in Pittsburgh. I saw Jose Llana in Here Lies Love twice, so looked forward to seeing him in this. I never saw the show before, and only know it from Yul Brynner's king in the movie, so I was surprised how secondary the character seemed to Anna's in the show. Laura Michelle Kelly was lovely as Anna, what a beautiful voice! I also enjoyed the songs that were cut from the movie, which I hadn't heard before. I thought the sets and lighting were beautiful, much like those for Sher's South Pacific a couple of years ago. Looking forward to Fun Home next weekend!

amaklo said: "I also enjoyed the King and I tour in Pittsburgh. I saw Jose Llana in Here Lies Love twice, so looked forward to seeing him in this. I never saw the show before, and only know it from Yul Brynner's king in the movie, so I was surprised how secondary the character seemed to Anna's in the show. Laura Michelle Kelly was lovely as Anna, what a beautiful voice! I also enjoyed the songs that were cut from the movie, which I hadn't heard before. I thought the sets and lighting were beautiful, much like those for Sher's South Pacific a couple of years ago. Looking forward to Fun Home next weekend!"

I don't know if you kept the program, but she also received first billing over him.

In addition to the palace sets, the costumes were also quite wonderful throughout the show. ARTc3 has a point about the palace wall set being there for the majority of the entire show, but I can't imagine what else they could have done. They did change the imagery for the garden scenes, and for the Uncle Thomas' Cabin play, but since the palace is the backdrop for the show I think the options were limited. I loved the classroom set, and the columns that moved.

I think if Jose Llana's character had not brought some laughter to the show it would had been an entirely different performance. Maybe that's why he seems removed from the other characters who are all more serious, respectful, formal, and "in a different musical" as ARTc3 put it.

Updated On: 4/11/17 at 06:02 AM

I saw Botts at a Saturday evening performance back in June in Durham. And I know from friends that LMK was out for the matinee that day too, so it definitely was not Botts' first Anna rodeo.

Does anyone know if LMK is back? TodayTix has a cool discount, so I'll take advantage of it. Based on the last post, I'm assuming she is

Does anyone know if LMK will remain on the tour next year? I am trying to catch it with her, specifically in Hershey, PA. Any input is appreciated :)

I caught the tour in Chicago and thought it was okay. A perfectly serviceable production, but nowhere near the revelation Chris Jones raves and drools over. Laura Michelle Kelley is absolute perfection and really the reason to see it. Everything else about the production was about as conventional as you'd expect. Personally, I though the 90s revival was far more interesting and dynamic, though I admit I saw it on Broadway and on tour, while the recent revival, I didn't get to see at Lincoln Center. It was interesting to have witnessed Jose Llana perform different roles in both revivals, but as the King, he lacked the charisma and presence I was hoping to find. And unfortunately, this was the first time I've seen March of the Siamese Children and Shall We Dance and felt absolutely nothing. I smiled, but there was no emotional rush or thrill that I'd always experienced, even from clips on television. It was interesting to see Western People Funny and I liked what it added to the show. But outside of that, Kelly's glorious performance and the ship in the opening, I didn't find that this tour really adds anything new to the typical paint-by-numbers productions you could find in most Equity regional productions around the country.